The document discusses compensatory education and criticisms of the theory of cultural deprivation. Compensatory education programs aim to compensate children from deprived backgrounds by providing resources to schools. One such program is Operation Head Start in the US, which includes parenting skills classes, nursery classes, and home visits from health professionals. The document also summarizes criticisms from various scholars who argue that cultural deprivation theory ignores the positive effects of ethnicity, that underachievement is due to racism rather than culture or self-esteem, and that minority children are culturally different rather than deprived.

1. Cultural deprivation
Compensatory Education and Criticisms of
Cultural Deprivation

2. Compensatory Education
Compensatory Education is the main policy to tackle Cultural
Deprivation. It does this by providing sources to schools in deprived
areas. Compensatory Education programmes attempt to
compensate children from deprived backgrounds.
One programme is the Operation Head Start in the United States. It
includes:
Parenting skills
Setting up nursery classes
Home visits by health visitors and education psychologists.

3. Criticisms…Geoffrey Driver (1977)
He criticises Cultural Deprivation theory for ignoring the
positive effects that ethnicity has on achievement.
Driver shows Black Caribbean families provide girls with
positive role models as a strong, independent woman.
However, he argues that this is why Black girls are generally
more successful than Black boys in education.

4. Criticisms…Errol Lawrence (1982)
Lawrence challenges Pryce’s view of Black pupils failing due
to weak culture and lack of self esteem.
However, he argues that the reason Black people under
achieve is due to racism and not low self esteem.

5. Criticisms…Nell Keddie (1973)
Keddie sees Cultural Deprivation as a myth and sees it as a victim
blaming explanation.
She disagrees with the idea that people fail in education due to
culturally deprived backgrounds.
But instead, she argues that ethnic minority children are culturally
different not culturally deprived.
She also argues that they under achieve because schools are
ethnocentric: biased in favour of white culture and against
minorities.

6. Our conclusion
• We agree with all the points mentioned such as the programme
Operation Head Start as it prepares people for the future.
• We also agree that Black Caribbean girls tend to have positive
strong role models as many Black Caribbean families are lone
parent, female headed. This results in boys lacking a strong role
model, leading to their underachievement.
• We agree that Black boys fail due to racism, but they may fail due
to low self esteem as a result of being labelled.